Review: 'The Peppercorn Project' by Nicki Edwards (2016)

After the tragic death of her husband, single mum Isabelle Cassidy is bereft and broke. When she hears about The Peppercorn Project – a scheme that offers affordable rent in the tiny but vibrant town of Stony Creek – Issie sees it as her family's best chance at a fresh start.
Newly single police officer Matt Robertson moved to Stony Creek to lick his wounds after a bitter divorce. Wanting only peace and quiet, Matt is against the Project, seeing it as a threat to the peace he's found in the country town – until he meets Issie. Despite himself, Matt is drawn to the widow and feels inexplicably protective of her fragile family.
Just when Issie begins to imagine a future with Matt, an accident proves how far she has to go before she can move beyond her grief. But the citizens of Stony Creek won't rest until they see these two broken souls find a new beginning, together.
Can Issie move beyond the pain of her past and entrust Matt with her family, and her heart?
Since I started blogging I've had the chance to read more of particular genres I normally probably wouldn't have picked up that quickly due to various reasons. One of these genres is Australian chick lit/romance novels, a genre which I've really come to love over the past few years. There are some amazing Australian authors whose work I probably wouldn't have discovered without the help of my blog. Today I've got a review of Nicki Edwards' 'The Peppercorn Project' to share with all of you, an Australian rural romance novel I immediately liked the sound of. I was intrigued by the title (I had no idea what it meant or could refer to) and excited to check out an author that was new to me, so a big thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy!
Isabelle Cassidy is completely heartbroken after the tragic death of her husband. The only thing forcing her to go on is the fact that she has two young children to take care of, but Issie realises they need a new start, away from everything that reminds them of what their life used to be like. The small town of Stony Creek seems to be the perfect place, particularly because of the Peppercorn Project, a scheme that offers affordable rent to families looking to start over away from the city. But not everyone in Stony Creek is a fan of the project, including police officer Matt Robertson, who is afraid it will only bring trouble to their small town. However, as soon as Matt lays eyes on Issie he knows he is in trouble himself, but not the kind of trouble he was expecting...
Sometimes you just need a great romance novel to take your mind off everyday-life and I have to say Nicki Edwards' 'The Peppercorn Project' definitely did the trick for me. I wasn't completely sure what to expect of the book when I picked it up, but it turned out to be a beautifully written and heartfelt story I really enjoyed from start to finish. The novel tells the emotional story of Issie who has lost her husband and is searching for a way to start afresh with her two young children, which leads her to the small town of Stony Creek. I really liked the small town setting and easily warmed to the various characters; I even think this could be the start of a series because there are numerous characters I'd love to find out more about!
In a way, the rural romance feel of the book reminded me a bit of Nicholas Sparks novels, which I always love. I think the idea of the Peppercorn Project is a great one and a great one for a book, but I did feel some of the subplots in the novel could have been worked out a bit more, just to make everything even more of a coherent whole. This is just a small sidenote, though, because I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am excited to hopefully read more of Nicki Edwards' work in the near future. Overall, 'The Peppercorn Project' is a beautifully told, well-written and heartfelt novel; definitely worth picking up if you're a women's fiction/romance fan looking for your next read!

Rating:9,5/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.